Shadow and Light
by EchoTheHybrid
Summary: Echopaw and her sister, Frostpaw, have just began their apprenticeship. Every thing is going fine until strange scents start appearing around the territory, and cats start mysteriously dying... This is my first Warriors FanFic. I do not own Warriors, Erin Hunter does. This is Book 1 of the Growing Darkness series.
1. Prologue and Allegiances

**Prologue**

A creature moved swiftly through the darkness, keeping low to the ground, trying not to be seen. "Are you there," a cat called softly from up ahead, hearing the sound of pawsteps.

"Yes," the first cat answered, stepping forward to where the other cat was waiting. He looked around, "Where is-"

"I'm here," another voice cut him of. A shape padded up to where the other cats were standing, his eyes flashing in the faint moonlight. They nodded quickly to the newcomer, before sitting down and quickly glancing around, scenting the air to make sure no one else was nearby.

"We are no closer to our goal," the first cat whispered fiercely, "I am tired of waiting."

"When are the kits due?" the second cat asked patiently, unbothered by the sharp tone in his voice. Before he could answer, the clutter of stones made the cats snap around, searching for the source of the noise. "Just a hare. I may catch it later," the second cat licked his lips.

"In another moon or two," the first cat growled, settling back down to continue his conversation.

"Then wait till then, and if it doesn't work, we will continue our first plan," the third cat meowed, calm despite the tom's aggression.

"Fine!" the first cat spat, "But I'm going to do something to improve my chances, just to be sure," he added softly to himself, his yellow eyes glinting.

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Allegiances

RippleClan

Leader: Splashstar - Dark gray tabby tom with one white paw and green eyes

Deputy: Lakebreeze - Light brown tabby she-cat with white paws, chest, and green eyes

Medicine Cat: Creekfern - Silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Warriors

Rainclaw - Dark gray tom with amber eyes

Whiteflower - White she-cat with green eyes

Goldenfang - Golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice, Snowpaw

Stoneflower - Gray spotted she-cat with green eyes

Perchfang - Gray and white tom with amber eyes

Sandfoot - Light orange tabby tom with one white paw and green eyes

Stormclaw - Mottled gray tom with green eyes

Apprentice, Riverpaw

Frostfall - White tom with blue eyes

Bubbleleap - Light gray tabby tom with white paws and green eyes

Apprentice, Streampaw

Waveflower - Gray spotted she-cat with green eyes

Tidetail - Light brown tabby tom with green eyes

Pebbleclaw - Gray tabby tom with green eyes

Shinefur - Silver she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices

Streampaw - Silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

Riverpaw - Light gray tabby tom with yellow eyes

Snowpaw - White tom with green eyes

Nursing Queens

Icefeather - White she-cat with green eyes, mother to Bubbleleap's kits - Echokit (Silver spotted she-cat with green eyes) and Frostkit (White she-cat with green eyes)

Elders

Mistypelt - Light gray tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

BushClan

Leader: Fernstar - Light brown she-cat with green eyes

Deputy: Whitetoe - Black she-cat with one white toe and yellow eyes

Medicine Cat: Dewleaf - Tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat Apprentice: Sagepaw - Silver she-cat with green eyes

Warriors

Birchfang - Light brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

Leafnose - Brown tom with amber eyes and a dark ginger nose

Apprentice, Foxpaw ( Russet she-cat with amber eyes)

Oakclaw - Brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Thistlepelt - Ragged gray tom with yellow eyes

Cloverheart - Silver she-cat with green eyes

Nursing Queens

Briarstep - Brown she-cat with yellow eyes, mother to Leafnose's kits Sparrowkit (tortoiseshell she-kit with amber eyes) and Dovekit (Gray she-kit with green)

Elders

Losteye - Light Brown tabby tom with one missing eye and one green eye.

CliffClan

Leader: Hawkstar - Light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy: Falconflight - Light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Medicine Cat: Mosswhisker - Old patchy gray tom with green eyes.

Warriors

Eagleclaw - Brown tom with amber eyes

Mudmask - Light brown tom with amber eyes and a darker face

Graypelt - Gray she-cat with amber eyes

Silverbreeze - Silver she-cat with yellow eyes

Crevicestrike - Small light brown tabby tom with green eyes

Apprentice, Pebblepaw (Gray she-cat with amber eyes)

Nursing Queens

Dawnbreeze - Light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes, mother to Crevicestrike's kits - Talonkit (Brown tom with green eyes) and Eaglekit (Brown she-kit with yellow eyes)

Elders

Stonefoot - Light gray tom with one gray foot and yellow eyes

* * *

 **I restarted this story as something went wrong with the first one.**

 **By the way, it is really hard to write about characters without saying their name or what they look like. I have to refer to them as: The first cat, the second cat and the third cat. Can anyone guess who these cats are and what kits they are talking about?**

* * *

 **Also I updated the allegiances so that no canon names are used.**


	2. Chapter 1

Golden light streamed through the entrance of the den, warming the smooth rock walls of the cave. A small silver kit lay sleeping in a mossy nest, her chest rising and falling gently. As the sun shifted, and light pooled onto her spotted fur, she twitched. Slowly, she blinked open her kit-blue eyes, her jaws stretching wide in a huge yawn as she raised herself to her feet.

She clambered out of the nest and took a few disorientated steps forward, gazing around the large, brightly lit den. Suddenly, something barreled into her side, knocking her to the ground. She let out a faint mewl of protest as paws pinned her down against the sandy floor. "Come on, Echokit!" a voice meowed impatiently. "Icefeather said we could explore the camp today."

Echokit slowly raised her head to see a white she-kit standing over her, her whiskers twitching slightly. She purred, realizing it was a game, and batted at the she-kit's gray nose. The snow-furred kit jumped backwards, before dropping into a crouch and wiggling her hunches, preparing to leap.

"Be gentle with your sister, Frostkit," a calm purr sounded. The kits paused there game and glanced toward the back of the den. A pure white she-cat was sitting on a patch of fresh, green moss, her emerald eyes twinkling as she gazed warmly at the two kits.

"Yes, Icefeather," Frostkit purred innocently.

"Kits are stronger than they look," a voice mewed from behind them. The kits turned towards the entrance of the den, where a light gray tom was sitting, watching them play.

"Bubbleleap!" Echokit yowled, racing towards her father. He bent down and nuzzled her cheek softly, before giving her a lick on the ear. While Bubbleleap was busy greeting Echokit, Frostkit snuck up behind him, ready to pounce on his striped tail - which was waving lazily back and forth.

Slowly she crept forward - her paws making no sound as they sunk into the sandy floor with every step. When Frostkit was in striking distance, she pushed off with her hind legs, and caught his tail between her paws, purring with delight as she bit down with her small kit teeth. She growled softly, then, with a small squeak of surprise, she tumbled backwards, tripping over her large paws.

Bubbleleap spun around and was at Frostkit's side in an heartbeat, nudging her to her feet. "You'll make a fantastic warrior one day," he meowed encouragingly to her, brushing sand off her pelt with one of his cloud white paws.

Frostkit wriggled away from him, shaking her fur to get rid of the last specks of sand. "Can we look around the camp now?" she whined pleadingly to her father, quickly becoming bored with the confined area of the den to play in.

Glancing over at Icefeather, who nodded in agreement, Bubbleleap meowed, "Alright, you can go now. Just stay away from the bottom of the waterfall."

Echokit tilted her. "What's a _waterfall_?" she asked the greeneyed tom, gazing up at her father in confusion.

"The waterfall is a tower of tumbling water that rains down from the top of the cliff," he told them briskly, "Listen, you can hear the sound of it hitting the rocks."

Everyone was silent as the kits pricked their ears, listening for the sound of the waterfall. Sure enough, they could hear the faint noise of it pounding on the stones. "It's louder when your outside," Bubbleleap added, "But you'll get used to it after a while." He turned away to talk to his mate, leaving the kits to explore on their own.

"What are we waiting for?" Frostkit mewed, bubbling with excitement. Without giving Echokit any time to reply, she raced through the entrance of the den, heading up the tunnel that lead to the rest of camp.

Echokit followed Frostkit out of the nursery, taking it a bit slower than her impatient sister. Once they reached the end of the tunnel - it was only about a tail-length long - the rumbling sound of the waterfall was almost deafening. Strangely enough, they still couldn't see it.

They were in a small clearing, surrounded by a wall of ferns that was blocking their view of the rest of the camp. On the left side of the clearing was a massive pile of rocks, covered in thick moss with clumps of ferns sprouting out of the cracks. A small creek wound its way around the pile of stones, before disappearing through a gap in the fern wall.

The kits decided to follow the stream to see where it came from. They carefully edged their way around the boulders, pushing through several patches of ferns that were growing between the river and the rockpile. As they shoved past one particularly thick clump, they came to a halt, gazing wide eyed at the massive tower of water in front of them.

Echokit gasped in amazement at the sight of it. Carefully, she crawled forward over the smooth, flat stone that lined the river, being sure to not get too close the the churning water, as Bubbleleap had warned her earlier. A shower of pebbles suddenly clattered down on top of her, hitting her on the back of the head. "Ouch!" she squealed, spinning around to try and see what had dislodged the stones.

"Frostkit!" she yowled as she spotted her sister scrambling up the mound of rocks. "Get down," she called, running to the bottom of the pile. She half jumped half dragged herself onto the first rock, trying to get a better view of her sister. "What are you doing up there," she asked Frostkit loudly, trying to be heard over the roar of the waterfall.

"I wanted to get a better view," she yowled back. Echokit growled in annoyance, _can't she see it's dangerous?_ "Okay, okay," Frostkit meowed, rolling her eyes. "I'm coming do-" Frostkit's mew was cut of by a screech. "Help! My paw's stuck."

Echokit placed her paws on the next stone and pulled herself up. "I'm coming, Frostkit," she yowled, climbing higher up the rock hill. Her limbs ached, she had never done this much exercise before! "Why did you stick your paw in there?" she asked Frostkit once she had reached her sister. The snowy she-kit had her foot jammed in a small crack in between two rocks, and was trying - unsuccessfully - to pull it out.

"I saw something shiny in there," she grunted, tugging on her paw to try to get it loose. Echokit moved closer, peering into the shadowy crack to try and see what her sister had been looking for. Suddenly, Frostkit jerked away from the hole - her paw coming free - but before she could regain her balance, she went tumbling backwards off the boulder they were on.

As Frostkit cried out, Echokit spun around and lunged forward, grasping her sister's scruff in her jaws. She felt her paws slipping as she began to be slide towards the edge, weighed down by Frostkit's greater size. Echokit tightened her grip and pulled backwards, hauling Frostkit back onto the rock just as she started to let go.

They lay there panting for a moment, before Frostkit spoke. "Th-thanks," she meowed shakily, draping her tail over her sister's shoulder. After they caught their breath, Frostkit got to her feet, wobbling slightly at first. She then carefully made her way back down the pile of stones, wanting to have her paws back on firm ground.

Echokit stood up, and was about to follow her, when she remembered the glimmering object that Frostkit had seen in the hole. Her paw was thinner than her sister's, so she reached into the gap, groping around for it. Her claws closed around something, and she pulled it out into the open.

It was a small, almost transparent pebble, and as the sun hit the glimmering orb, beams of light bounced off it in all directions. "Are you coming?" Frostkit's voice called from below. Echokit mewed to her that she would be down in a moment, and quickly grabbed the strange stone in her jaws before leaping down the rockpile to where Frostkit was waiting.

"Lets go explore the rest of the camp now," Frostkit meowed as soon as Echokit had reached the ground. She then turned and headed back towards the front of the rockpile, Echokit right behind her.

Once they had returned to the nursery clearing, Echokit left her stone on a mossy rock so she could come back and get it later. They then pushed through the ferns blocking them from central camp, ready to explore.

A massive sandy clearing stretched out in front of them, only broken up by a thick clump of ferns that was growing near the center. On one side of the clearing was the glimmering river, and on the other was a ginormous piece of rock, covered in ferns and moss, with a couple of dark holes in its side.

Cats lay sprawled out on smooth, flat stones at the edge of the clearing, enjoying the warm sunlight. Some sat talking near a well stocked pile of freshly caught fish, while others headed off to do their tasks. Nervously, the kits edged away from the nursery, gazing around the many cats.

A few cats glanced their way, but most didn't pay any attention to them. Echokit let out a sigh of relief. She turned to ask Frostkit what they should do now, but she was gone. Her heart started to beat faster as she began to panic. "Over here!" Frostkit's voice called from over near the large rock.

Echokit raced over to her sister, relief swamping her. As she came closer to where Frostkit was, she scented a sharp tang coming from inside a hole near where her sister was standing, along with the smell of water and stone. Curious, she squeezed past Froskit to get a closer look at what seemed to be a small den.

As she gazed around inside, struggling to make anything out in the dim light, a golden beam sliced through the dark cave, illuminating bundles of leaves that lined the cracks in the walls and a neat pile of mossballs sat in the corner next to a small pool of water.

"Let me see!" Frostkit pushed past her, trying to find out what was inside. Echokit backed out of the cave to let her look around, and a few moments later, Frostkit leaped out of the hole shaking scraps of leaves from her fur. Without another word, she bounced off to explore the rest of camp, Echokit right behind her.


	3. Chapter 2

**Here is the next chapter! Sorry it took so long. Thanks for all the reviews as well.**

* * *

A paw prodded at her side, nudging her awake. Echokit curled up into a small ball - trying to get back to sleep - when the paw prodded her again. "Go away," she growled, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. The poking stopped, so she wriggled down deeper into the moss of her nest.

A heavy weight suddenly landed on her back, and Echokit flung her eyes open. "Frostkit!" she screeched flipping over to try and shake her sister off.

Three moons had passed since they had first explored the camp, and since then both kits had grown a lot. Though Frostkit was still stronger, Echokit was now almost as tall as her sister and had a narrower body, which Bubbleleap said would make her a quicker swimmer one day.

Echokit kicked out with her thin, but strong, hind legs, throwing Froskit off. The white she-kit landed on her paws and immediately sprang back towards her, throwing her against the wall of the cave. Echokit landed with a small thud next to the crack where she kept her shiny stone, the same one she had found in the rockpile a few moons ago. She carefully grabbed it between her teeth then held it up to the sun, reflecting the light off it and into Frostkit's eyes.

"Hey, no fair!" Frostkit mewed, shielding her eyes with one paw. "Anyway," she continued as Echokit returned the stone to its place, "Snowpaw said that he'd play with us today," Frostkit finished, ducking out of the cave and heading up the entrance tunnel, only glancing back once to make sure Echokit was following.

Once they were out of the den, they found Snowpaw waiting patiently for them next to the fern wall of the nursery clearing. "So, what game do you want to play?" he asked the kits as they bounded into sight. Frostkit sat down next to Snowpaw and started talking quietly to him - trying to think of a game.

While Frostkit and Snowpaw were chatting, a smooth, shiny pebble caught Echokit's eye. She padded over to where the stone was laying in the sand. It was perfectly round and night black in colour, and when she placed her paw on it it felt hot from absorbing the warmth of the sun. "Come look at this," she called to the others.

Frostkit looked up from her conversation, then trotted swiftly over to Echokit, poking at the pebble. "We could use it for our game," she meowed, then glanced over at Snowpaw. "Are there any games that use pebbles?" she asked him, nudging the stone forward.

Snowpaw nodded, "We can play find the pebble." He picked up the stone and placed it on a small rock. "The game is simple," he began, "One cat hides it and the other's search for it… " he then went on to explain the rules of the game, before they agreed that Frostkit would be the hider first.

"Okay, you have thirty seconds to hide the stone," Snowpaw mewed. He then turned to face the fern wall so he couldn't see what Frostkit was doing, and Echokit copied him and began to count.

27, 28, 2- "Done!" came Frostkit's mew as she bounded back to the others, cutting into Echokit's counting with a few seconds to spare. "I bet you'll never find it!" she boasted as the others slipped away to search for the stone.

Snowpaw headed towards the medicine den, so Echokit decided to search somewhere else. She made her way towards the riverbank, remembering to check the sand for paw prints as she went and sniffing the air to try and catch her sister's scent . The river was calm and still, its shimmering surface reflecting the cloudless sky. The sand there was undisturbed, so Echokit padded over to where the elders den sat nestled between some boulders.

There was only one line of paw prints imprinted in the sand, going from the entrance of the den to the prey-pile and back. _Wait, the prey-pile!_ Frostkit had said that they would never find it, so that would mean that she wouldn't have just hid it behind a stone.

Echokit sprinted toward the large pile of fish in the center of the clearing. She tasted the air, barely managing to distinguish Frostkit's scent from the strong smell of fish.

"What are you doing-" Snowpaw mewed, coming up to the silver she-kit just Echokit plunged into the pile of fish, rummaging around for the stone. She popped out of the pile with the pebble in her jaws a few moments later. "Okay then," Snowpaw purred, amused.

They headed back to where Frostkit was waiting. "How did you find it?" Frostkit whined as they placed the pebble in front of her, disappointed that her attempt at hiding the stone had failed.

Next was Echokit's turn to be the hider. She picked up the stone and raced away to find a spot to hide it. She wound her way around some clumps of ferns, wondering if it would be well hidden there, when she remembered a small clearing that was littered with pebbles behind the boulder with dark holes in it.

She headed to the back of the boulder, searching for the where the clearing was hidden. She pushed past a clump of ferns, only to find the back of the boulder in her way. She growled softly and backed away from the rock, then tumbled backwards into the open. "Yes!" she hissed softly as she spun around to find that she was in the clearing.

Echokit threw down her rock and sprinted back to where the others were, knowing that they might already be done counting. "Just in time," Snowpaw mewed as Echokit sprinted back to the others, her long fluffy tail flowing out behind her.

Frostkit was already racing away to search, when Echokit suddenly realized that if anyone looked in the clearing at all they would almost immediately notice the pebble due to its unique appearance. She groaned inwardly as she realized this, and just as she expected; Frostkit came trotting happily back to her with the smooth, round pebble in her jaws. "Minnow-brain!" Echokit hissed to herself, though she congratulated her sister anyways.

The silver she-kit quickly forget about her mistake as they continued to play till well past sunhigh. It was Snowpaw's turn to hide the pebble, and so far he was winning with the most pebbles to not be found. Even though Echokit was nowhere near as competitive as her sister, she still was determined to do her best.

"Done," came Snowpaw's mew. Echokit immediately turned around and began searching in the dying light, barely noticing as Frostkit bounded off towards the elders den.

Echokit was careful to keep checking for scents as she went, not letting the smallest of details slip past her. Finally, after several minutes, she picked up Snowpaw's trail near the edge of the river. She followed the scent to the end of a long, wide branch that stretched out across the water, reaching over the thin strip of land that made a small island in the center of the river.

Carefully, she pressed her paws onto the branch, testing to see if it was stable. It bent slightly under her weight, but if Snowpaw could climb on it without it breaking, it must be safe enough. Slowly, Echokit stepped out onto the branch, digging her claws into the wood. She shifted her feet uneasily as bark peeled away beneath her grip. It was almost dark now as the sun slipped towards the horizon, making her stretch out being her.

Echokit hesitantly crawled forward over the branch, testing every step warily. After she was about over half way along the branch, she spotted the small pebble sitting in a small hole in the branch. As she padded forward toward the pebble, she barely noticed that she was now a couple of fox-lengths above the island.

She reached forward, grasping at the stone with her paw. She just couldn't reach it, so she shuffled forward along the branch. She grabbed the pebble and spun around, maybe a little too hastily, as the next second she found herself slipping off the branch and plummeting to the ground below. This wouldn't be a problem for a warrior, or maybe even a apprentice, but as a kit the drop could be much more of a threat.

Echokit let out a faint mewl of protest as she felt herself falling. She failed aimlessly trying to grab the branch, twisting and turning in the air. She flipped herself upright and braced herself for the landing, when her leg struck something hard and pain seared through her body. Then everything went black.

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 **What do you think will happen now? Will Echokit be okay?**

 **Also I want to say that in this world there can be animals from any continent. You will get what I mean in a second.**

 **So I decided that for Echoflight's breed/breeds I am going to make her inherit her silver fur and green eyes from the Egyptian Mau and her strangely long legs (they will become VERY long in the future, making her a good runner and a strong jumper) and spots from a Serval. She got this from Lakebreeze's family (Lakebreeze is Bubbleleap's mother) who had one of her parents parents mate with a Serval (Now you should get what I mean when I say that the animals can come from any continent)**

 **They may meet other Serval cats in the future, I am not sure.**

 **Also, I am adding a Question of The Day because it is fun.**

 **QOTD: What are your favorite breeds of cat? (Mine are the Bengal, Egyptian Mau and the Serval)**


End file.
